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The Nonlinear Structural Materials Module augments the mechanical capabilities of the Structural Mechanics Module and the MEMS Module with nonlinear material models, including large strain plastic deformation capabilities. When the mechanical stress in a structure becomes large, certain nonlinearities in the material properties force you to abandon linear material models. This situation also occurs in some operating conditions, such as high temperature. The Nonlinear Structural Materials Module adds elastoplastic, viscoplastic, creep, and hyperelastic material models.

User-defined material models based on stress or strain invariants, flow rules, and creep laws can easily be created directly in the user interface with the built-in constitutive laws as a starting point. You can both combine material models and include multiphysics effects. The tutorial models that accompany the module illustrate this by showcasing combined creep and plasticity, thermally induced creep and viscoplasticity, as well as orthotropic plasticity. The Nonlinear Structural Materials Module also has important applications where it is combined with the Fatigue Module and the Multibody Dynamics Module.

Additional images:

A circular bar is subjected to a uniaxial tensile test, resulting in large deformations. The bar experiences large-scale necking and plastic deformation across its central cross-sectional region.

Fluid flow, pressure field, and von Mises stresses in a peristaltic pump. The fluid-structure interaction is caused by the roller squeezing the tubing’s walls. Large deformations, contact, and the hyperelastic behavior of the tubing material are considered. The simulation is provided courtesy of Nagi Elabbasi, Veryst Engineering.

Hyperelastic

Plasticity and Viscoplasticity

Creep

Arruda-Boyce

Anand

Coble

Blatz-Ko

Kinematic Plastic Hardening

Deviatoric

Damping

Isotropic Plastic Hardening

Garofalo (Hyperbolic Sine)

Gao

Large Strain Plasticity

Nabarro-Herring

Gent

Orthotropic Hill Plasticity

Norton

Large Strain Plasticity

Perfectly Plastic Hardening

Norton-Bailey

Mooney-Rivlin (two, five and nine parameters)

Thermal Expansion

Potential

Murnaghan

Tresca Yield Criterion

User-defined Creep

Neo-Hookean

User-defined Plasticity

Volumetric

Ogden

von Mises Yield Criterion

Weertman

St Venant-Kirchhoff

Storakers

Thermal Expansion

User-defined Hyperelastic Material

Varga

Yeoh

Nonlinear Structural Materials Module

Product Features

Elastoplasticity

Hyperelasticity

Viscoplasticity

Creep

Large deformations

Large strain plasticity

User-defined creep, hyperelasticity, and plasticity

User-defined modeling with stress or strain invariants and principal stretches

Pressurized Orthotropic Container

In this video, a container made of rolled steel is subjected to an internal overpressure. As an effect of the manufacturing method, one of the three material principal directions—the out-of-plane direction— has a higher yield stress than the other two. Hill’s orthotropic plasticity is used to model the differences in yield strength. The <a href="http://www.comsol.com/showroom/gallery/12669">pressurized orthotropic container model</a> presented in the video can be downloaded from our Model Gallery.

In this video, a container made of rolled steel is subjected to an internal overpressure. As an effect of the manufacturing method, one of the three material principal directions—the out-of-plane direction— has a higher yield stress than the other two. Hill’s orthotropic plasticity is used to model the differences in yield strength. The pressurized orthotropic container model presented in the video can be downloaded from our Model Gallery.

Nonlinear Structural Materials Module

Viscoplastic Creep in Solder Joints

This example studies viscoplastic creep in solder joints under thermal loading using the Anand viscoplasticity model, which is suitable for large, isotropic, viscoplastic deformations in combination with small elastic deformations.
The model geometry includes two electronic components (chips) mounted on a circuit board by means of several ...

Sheet Metal Forming

This example is a NAFEMS validation model of a friction contact problem with an elastoplastic material model.
A thin metal sheet is being forced into a die by a punch. Both the compressing displacement and the release of the punch are modeled in order to compute the forming angle (at the maximum punch displacement) and the angle after the ...

Hyperelastic Seal

In this model you study the force-deflection relation of a car door seal made from a soft rubber material. The model uses a hyperelastic material model together with formulations that can account for the large deformations and contact conditions.

Necking of an Elastoplastic Metal Bar

A circular metal bar of elasto-plastic material with nonlinear isotropic hardening behavior is subjected to uniaxial tension. Affected by significant stresses the bar experiences high plasticity. The phenomenon of necking is captured and its growth is accurately simulated. The change in radius is in good agreement with results found other ...

Snap Hook

This model simulates the insertion of a snap hook in its groove. Fasteners like this are common in the automotive industry, for example, in the control panel of a car. In this case it is important to know the force that must be applied in order to place the hook in the slot but also the force needed to remove it. From a numerical point of view, ...

Inflation of a Spherical Rubber Balloon

This model aims to investigate the inflation of a rubber balloon with different hyperelastic material models, and compare the results to analytical expressions.
A controlled inflation could benefit clinical applications, cardiovascular research, and the medical device industry, thus the importance of understanding the hyperelastic behavior ...

Plastic Deformation During the Expansion of a Biomedical Stent

A stent is a wire-mesh tube used to open a coronary artery during angioplasty, a process for the removal or compression of plaque. Their design is of significance for percutaneous transluminal angioplasty with stenting. During this procedure, a stent is deployed into the blood vessel by means of a balloon. The expanded stent acts as a scaffold ...

Temperature-Dependent Plasticity in Pressure Vessel

This example demonstrates how to use temperature dependent materials within the Nonlinear Structural Materials Module.
A large container holds pressurized hot water. Several pipes are attached to the pressure vessel. Those pipes can rapidly transfer cold water in case of an emergency cooling. The pressure vessel is made of carbon steel with an ...

Elastoacoustic Effect in Rail Steels

The elastoacoustic effect is a change in the speed of elastic waves that propagate in a structure undergoing static elastic deformations. The effect is used in many ultrasonic techniques for nondestructive testing of prestressed states within structures.
This example model studies the elastoacoustic effect in steels typically used in railroad ...

Snap Hook

Inflation of a Spherical Rubber Balloon

Plastic Deformation During the Expansion of a Biomedical Stent

Temperature-Dependent Plasticity in Pressure Vessel

Elastoacoustic Effect in Rail Steels

Viscoplastic Creep in Solder Joints

This example studies viscoplastic creep in solder joints under thermal loading using the Anand viscoplasticity model, which is suitable for large, isotropic, viscoplastic deformations in combination with small elastic deformations.
The model geometry includes two electronic components (chips) mounted on a circuit board by means of several ...

Sheet Metal Forming

This example is a NAFEMS validation model of a friction contact problem with an elastoplastic material model.
A thin metal sheet is being forced into a die by a punch. Both the compressing displacement and the release of the punch are modeled in order to compute the forming angle (at the maximum punch displacement) and the angle after the ...

Hyperelastic Seal

In this model you study the force-deflection relation of a car door seal made from a soft rubber material. The model uses a hyperelastic material model together with formulations that can account for the large deformations and contact conditions.

Necking of an Elastoplastic Metal Bar

A circular metal bar of elasto-plastic material with nonlinear isotropic hardening behavior is subjected to uniaxial tension. Affected by significant stresses the bar experiences high plasticity. The phenomenon of necking is captured and its growth is accurately simulated. The change in radius is in good agreement with results found other ...

Snap Hook

This model simulates the insertion of a snap hook in its groove. Fasteners like this are common in the automotive industry, for example, in the control panel of a car. In this case it is important to know the force that must be applied in order to place the hook in the slot but also the force needed to remove it. From a numerical point of view, ...

Inflation of a Spherical Rubber Balloon

This model aims to investigate the inflation of a rubber balloon with different hyperelastic material models, and compare the results to analytical expressions.
A controlled inflation could benefit clinical applications, cardiovascular research, and the medical device industry, thus the importance of understanding the hyperelastic behavior ...

Plastic Deformation During the Expansion of a Biomedical Stent

A stent is a wire-mesh tube used to open a coronary artery during angioplasty, a process for the removal or compression of plaque. Their design is of significance for percutaneous transluminal angioplasty with stenting. During this procedure, a stent is deployed into the blood vessel by means of a balloon. The expanded stent acts as a scaffold ...

Temperature-Dependent Plasticity in Pressure Vessel

This example demonstrates how to use temperature dependent materials within the Nonlinear Structural Materials Module.
A large container holds pressurized hot water. Several pipes are attached to the pressure vessel. Those pipes can rapidly transfer cold water in case of an emergency cooling. The pressure vessel is made of carbon steel with an ...

Elastoacoustic Effect in Rail Steels

The elastoacoustic effect is a change in the speed of elastic waves that propagate in a structure undergoing static elastic deformations. The effect is used in many ultrasonic techniques for nondestructive testing of prestressed states within structures.
This example model studies the elastoacoustic effect in steels typically used in railroad ...